The Rise of Kenneth Zohore

When Cardiff City signed Danish Striker Kenneth Zohore from KV Kortrijk in a deadline-day loan deal that would last 6 months, many questions were swirling around Bluebirds supporters heads. Firstly, who is this man, and who signed him?

Was it former boss Russell Slade, who was the current boss when Zohore arrived, or was owner Vincent Tan interfering with on the field antics by signing this unknown, tall, bulky 21 year-old who few, if any, had ever heard of.

Cardiff were currently serving a transfer ban that stopped them from signing players permanently for a small period of time, so you could be forgiven for thinking City would be in for a permanent deal for the man who had played at top clubs in Italy (Fiorentina) and his homeland Denmark (Copenhagen).

But things didn’t quite go to plan for Zohore. Slade clearly wasn’t his biggest fan, and he was restricted to just 12 appearances in the last 5 months of the season. He had to wait until April 19th to score his first goal for the club, away at Brentford.

Zohore was signed in the summer however, when Paul Trollope, who had coached the squad as part of the set up under Slade, took over in the summer of 2016. But despite a change of manager there was no change in Zohore’s fortunes as he was restricted to just a single start, which came in a humbling 1-0 extra time defeat to League 1 side Bristol Rovers in the League Cup.

But since Trollope left last October, Zohore has come up leaps and bounds, and finished the season strong with 12 goals in 23 league appearances including 5 assists, and the February player of the month award. Zohore almost certainly has made himself a crowd favourite, particularly for his superb solo goal at home to Preston a year on from joining the club.

That goal ensured that Warnock, who had concerns about Zohore’s work rate, attitude and fitness when he arrived at the club, would not be sold. Warnock told Sky Sports’ ‘Goals on Sunday’ host Chris Kamara that “We had a loan offer from Belgium.”, but Warnock was convinced that Zohore could be more than useful to him when he threw him on at half time when City were 1-0 down to Wolves at home. “I told him to put himself about and show me what he’s got.” Well he certainly responded, flicking on a delightful header which assisted Anthony Pilkington for a late winner. Warnock said that the Dane was a ‘disgrace’ in training before that kick up the backside which turned him into what Warnock has branded him as, the ‘secret weapon’.

Warnock and Zohore helped steer City away from the relegation zone, and clear up the mess the club were in when Trollope left. The Bluebirds finished 12th in the league, and based on their form in 2017 would have been in and around the play-offs, if the league was started on January 1st.

Can Cardiff City and Kenneth Zohore break into the top six this season? Zohore’s bright performances at the European Under-21 Championships have brought about interest from some of last seasons top Championship clubs, especially after his astonishing performance in the final group game, where he managed to score 2 goals whilst set up another 2 in a 4-2 victory. Despite not qualifying for the knock out phase of the competition, Zohore will be hoping that he can help the full national side soon, of which he is yet to make his debut.

What is for sure is that the now 23 year-old has potential to have another fruitful season in the Championship, which could help get himself into both the full national side, and also the Premier League with his club.